1985–86 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town
1985–86 season
Chairman	Derek Banks
Manager	Graham Carr
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	8th
FA Cup	First round
Milk Cup	Second round
Freight Rover Trophy	Quarter-final (s)
Top goalscorer	League: Ian Benjamin (22); All: Ian Benjamin (26)
Highest home attendance	4,449 vs Swindon Town
Lowest home attendance	1,167 vs Torquay United
Average home league attendance	2,384
	← 1984–85 1986–87 →

The 1985–86 season was Northampton Town's 89th season in their history and the ninth successive season in the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and Associate Members' Cup.

Players

As of match played 3 May 1986.^[1]

Name	Position	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Peter Gleasure	GK	Luton	(1960-10-08)8 October 1960 (aged 25)	168	0	Millwall	March 1983
Tim Garner	GK	Hitchin	(1961-03-30)30 March 1961 (aged 25)	2	0	Kidderminster Harriers	Summer 1985
Defenders
Mark Bushell	FB	Northampton	(1968-06-05)5 June 1968 (aged 17)	1	0	Apprentice	Summer 1985	N/A
Paul Curtis	RB	London	(1963-07-01)1 July 1963 (aged 22)	32	1	Charlton Athletic	Summer 1985	Free
Paul Friar	LB	Glasgow	(1963-06-06)6 June 1963 (aged 22)	16	0	Charlton Athletic	6 March 1986	Loan
Russell Lewis	CB	Blaengwynfi	(1956-09-15)15 September 1956 (aged 29)	155	6	Swindon Town	Summer 1983
Keith McPherson	CB	Greenwich	(1963-09-11)11 September 1963 (aged 22)	21	0	West Ham United	23 January 1986	£10,000^[2]
Graham Reed	RB	Doncaster	(1961-06-24)24 June 1961 (aged 24)	43	1	Frickley Athletic	Summer 1985	£6,000
Midfielders
Phil Chard	U	Corby	(1960-10-16)16 October 1960 (aged 25)	49	8	Peterborough United	19 August 1985
Warren Donald	CM	Hillingdon	(1964-10-07)7 October 1964 (aged 21)	48	5	West Ham United	4 October 1985	£11,000^[3]
Stewart Hamill	W	Glasgow	(1960-01-22)22 January 1960 (aged 26)	4	2	Nuneaton Town	April 1986
Richard Hill	CM	Hinckley	(1963-09-20)20 September 1963 (aged 22)	49	19	Nuneaton Town	Summer 1985	£10,000
Aidy Mann	W	Northampton	(1967-07-12)12 July 1967 (aged 18)	82	5	Apprentice	May 1984	N/A
Mark Schiavi	W	London	(1964-05-01)1 May 1964 (aged 22)	39	6	Bournemouth	Summer 1985	Free
Forwards
Ian Benjamin	FW	Nottingham	(1961-12-11)11 December 1961 (aged 24)	106	45	Peterborough United	Summer 1984
Trevor Morley (c)	FW	Nottingham	(1962-03-20)20 March 1962 (aged 24)	51	13	Nuneaton Town	Summer 1985	£20,000
Paul Sugrue	FW	Coventry	(1960-11-06)6 November 1960 (aged 25)	9	2	Portsmouth	March 1986

Competitions

Canon League Division Four

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
6	Colchester United	46	19	13	14	88	63	+25	70
7	Hartlepool United	46	20	10	16	68	67	+1	70
8	Northampton Town	46	18	10	18	79	58	+21	64
9	Southend United	46	18	10	18	69	67	+2	64
10	Hereford United	46	18	10	18	74	73	+1	64

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	18	10	18	79	58	+21	64	9	7	7	44	29	+15	9	3	11	35	29	+6

Last updated: 30 March 2020.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

League position by match

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A
Result	L	W	W	L	W	L	L	W	L	L	L	W	D	D	W	D	D	L	W	W	W	D	D	L	W	W	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	D	L	W	W	D	W	D	L	L	L	L	W	D
Position	15	13	10	12	6	11	14	10	12	13	16	13	14	13	12	13	13	15	14	11	9	9	10	14	13	10	11	9	9	8	8	10	8	9	9	8	8	7	6	7	7	8	8	10	9	8

Source: Rothmans Football Yearbook 1986-87
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Win Draw Loss

17 August 1985 (1985-08-17) 1	Burnley	3–2	Northampton Town	Burnley
15:00 BST	K.Hird W.Biggins B.Mundee o.g.'		T.Morley G.Reed	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 4,214

26 August 1985 (1985-08-26) 2	Exeter City	1–2	Northampton Town	Exeter
15:00 BST	T.Kellow		T.Morley I.Benjamin	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 2,392 Referee: Rodger Gifford

31 August 1985 (1985-08-31) 3	Northampton Town	1–0	Mansfield Town	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Cavener pen.'			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,739

6 September 1985 (1985-09-06) 4	Swindon Town	3–2	Northampton Town	Swindon
15:00 BST	P.Coyne pen.' pen.'		R.Hill P.Cavener pen.'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,102

10 September 1985 (1985-09-10) 5	Northampton Town	6–0	Preston North End	Northampton
19:30 BST	I.Benjamin R.Hill T.Morley			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,171

14 September 1985 (1985-09-14) 6	Northampton Town	0–1	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
15:00 BST			G.Blissett	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,654

18 September 1985 (1985-09-18) 7	Hartlepool United	2–1	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
19:30 BST	B.Honour N.Walker		R.Hill	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 2,200

21 September 1985 (1985-09-21) 8	Northampton Town	3–1	Stockport County	Northampton
15:00 BST	I.Benjamin R.Hill T.Morley		T.Sword	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,954

28 September 1985 (1985-09-28) 9	Rochdale	3–2	Northampton Town	Rochdale
15:00 BST	P.Heaton R.Moore D.Grant		R.Hill I.Benjamin	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,954 Referee: George Courtney

1 October 1985 (1985-10-01) 10	Northampton Town	1–2	Wrexham	Northampton
19:30 BST	R.Hill		J.Steel S.Charles	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,234

5 October 1985 (1985-10-05) 11	Northampton Town	1–3	Hereford United	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Chard		I.Wells O.Kearns M.Carter	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,998

12 October 1985 (1985-10-12) 12	Peterborough United	0–5	Northampton Town	Peterborough
15:00 BST			P.Chard A.Mann P.Cavener I.Benjamin	Stadium: London Road Attendance: 3,901

19 October 1985 (1985-10-19) 13	Torquay United	1–1	Northampton Town	Torquay
15:00 BST	D.Dawkins		P.Chard	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 1,186

22 October 1985 (1985-10-22) 14	Northampton Town	2–2	Chester City	Northampton
19:30 BST	T.Morley I.Benjamin		M.Graham D.Murray	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,323

26 October 1985 (1985-10-26) 15	Colchester United	0–2	Northampton Town	Colchester
15:00 BST		Report	P.Chard 2' A.Mann 23'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,872 Referee: M James

2 November 1985 (1985-11-02) 16	Northampton Town	2–2	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin P.Cavener pen.'		M.Brolly S.Lister	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,343

5 November 1985 (1985-11-05) 17	Northampton Town	2–2	Tranmere Rovers	Northampton
19:30 GMT	W.Donald I.Benjamin		F.Worthington pen.' B.Rodaway	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,005 Referee: Danny Vickers

9 November 1985 (1985-11-09) 18	Aldershot	1–0	Northampton Town	Aldershot
15:00 GMT	A.Massey pen.'			Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,556

23 November 1985 (1985-11-23) 19	Northampton Town	4–0	Halifax Town	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Chard pen.' I.Benjamin T.Morley M.Schiavi			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,514

30 November 1985 (1985-11-30) 20	Cambridge United	2–5	Northampton Town	Cambridge
15:00 GMT	D.Crown S.Fallon		I.Benjamin pen.' M.Schiavi T.Morley	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 2,235

6 December 1985 (1985-12-06) 21	Southend United	0–4	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
19:30 GMT			M.Schiavi P.Curtis I.Benjamin	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 2,527

14 December 1985 (1985-12-14) 22	Northampton Town	2–2	Port Vale	Northampton
15:00 GMT	T.Morley P.Chard			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,259

21 December 1985 (1985-12-21) 23	Preston North End	1–1	Northampton Town	Preston
15:00 GMT	P.Sproson R.Earle		R.Hill	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 2,570

11 January 1986 (1986-01-11) 24	Mansfield Town	1–0	Northampton Town	Mansfield
15:00 GMT	M.Kearney pen.'		R.Hill	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 3,836

18 January 1986 (1986-01-18) 25	Northampton Town	2–0	Burnley	Northampton
15:00 GMT	T.Morley R.Hill			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,095

25 January 1986 (1986-01-25) 26	Crewe Alexandra	0–1	Northampton Town	Crewe
15:00 GMT			T.Morley	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 1,856

1 February 1986 (1986-02-01) 27	Northampton Town	0–1	Swindon Town	Northampton
15:00 GMT			C.Henry	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,449

5 February 1986 (1986-02-05) 28	Chester City	2–3	Northampton Town	Chester
19:30 GMT	I.Richardson pen.' P.Chard o.g.'		R.Hill M.Schiavi T.Morley	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 3,332

21 February 1986 (1986-02-21) 29	Stockport County	1–0	Northampton Town	Stockport
19:30 GMT	S.Cammack			Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 2,011

1 March 1986 (1986-03-01) 30	Northampton Town	1–0	Rochdale	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,146

4 March 1986 (1986-03-04) 31	Wrexham	1–0	Northampton Town	Wrexham, Wales
19:30 GMT	J.Steel			Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 1,433

8 March 1986 (1986-03-08) 32	Hereford United	3–0	Northampton Town	Hereford
15:00 GMT	P.Maddy M.Carter			Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 2,478

11 March 1986 (1986-03-11) 33	Northampton Town	3–0	Hartlepool United	Northampton
19:30 GMT	I.Benjamin R.Hill			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,815

15 March 1986 (1986-03-15) 34	Northampton Town	2–2	Peterborough United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	T.Morley R.Hill		T.Slack E.Kelly	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,332

18 March 1986 (1986-03-18) 35	Scunthorpe United	1–0	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
19:30 GMT	J.Broddle		P.Chard	Stadium: Old Showground Attendance: 1,355

22 March 1986 (1986-03-22) 36	Northampton Town	1–0	Colchester United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	W.Donald 13'	Report		Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,035 Referee: P Tyldesley

29 March 1986 (1986-03-29) 37	Orient	0–1	Northampton Town	Leyton, London
15:00 GMT			I.Benjamin	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 2,920

31 March 1986 (1986-03-31) 38	Northampton Town	0–0	Southend United	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,527

4 April 1986 (1986-04-04) 39	Tranmere Rovers	1–3	Northampton Town	Birkenhead
15:00 BST	M.Hilditch		S.Hamill I.Benjamin P.Sugrue	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1,103

8 April 1986 (1986-04-08) 40	Northampton Town	2–2	Exeter City	Northampton
19:30 BST	W.Donald R.Hill		M.Ling P.Friar o.g.'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,213

12 April 1986 (1986-04-12) 41	Northampton Town	2–3	Aldershot	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Sugrue P.Chard		G.Johnson B.Barnes	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,049

15 April 1986 (1986-04-15) 42	Northampton Town	2–3	Orient	Northampton
19:30 BST	T.Morley R.Hill		C.Jones A.Comfort C.Foster	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,731

18 April 1986 (1986-04-18) 43	Halifax Town	2–0	Northampton Town	Halifax
15:00 BST	D.Longhurst			Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 1,105

26 April 1986 (1986-04-26) 44	Northampton Town	0–2	Cambridge United	Northampton
15:00 BST			D.Crown B.Mundee	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,100

29 April 1986 (1986-04-29) 45	Northampton Town	5–1	Torquay United	Northampton
19:30 BST	R.Hill pen.' M.Schiavi P.Compton o.g'		M.Walsh	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,167

3 May 1986 (1986-05-03) 46	Port Vale	0–0	Northampton Town	Burslem
15:00 BST				Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,873

FA Cup

16 November 1985 (1985-11-16) First round	Gillingham	3–0	Northampton Town	Gillingham
15:00 GMT	B.Mundee o.g.' D.Mehmet T.Cochrane			Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 3,991 Referee: Dennis Hedges

Milk Cup

21 August 1985 (1985-08-21) First round 1st leg	Peterborough United	0–0	Northampton Town	Peterborough
19:30 BST				Stadium: London Road Attendance: 3,117 Referee: John Moules

2 September 1985 (1985-09-02) First round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	2–0	Peterborough United	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Cavener pen.' P.Chard			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,464

25 September 1985 (1985-09-25) Second round 1st leg	Oxford United	2–1	Northampton Town	Oxford
19:30 BST	P.Rhoades-Brown R.Houghton		I.Benjamin	Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 5,644

7 October 1985 (1985-10-07) Second round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	0–2	Oxford United	Northampton
19:30 BST			J.Aldridge	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,076

Freight Rover Trophy

Group 2
Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Northampton Town	2	2	0	5	2	+3	6
Colchester United	2	1	1	5	3	+2	3
Southend United	2	0	2	2	7	−5	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

21 January 1986 (1986-01-21) Prelim round (s)	Northampton Town	2–1	Colchester United	Northampton
19:30 GMT	M.Schiavi 4' I.Benjamin 82'	Report	T.Baker 36'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,958 Referee: Gerald Ashby

13 March 1986 (1986-03-13) Prelim round (s)	Southend United	1–3	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
19:30 GMT	F.Lampard Sr.		R.Hill I.Benjamin	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 683

27 March 1986 (1986-03-27) Quarter-final (s)	Bristol City	3–2	Northampton Town	Bristol
19:30 GMT	G.Riley B.Hutchinson S.Neville		S.Hamlil R.Hill	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 3,038

Appearances and goals

Pos	Player	Division Four			FA Cup			League Cup			League Trophy			Total
Pos	Player	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals
GK	Peter Gleasure	44	–	–	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	52	–	–
GK	Tim Garner	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–
DF	Mark Bushell	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
DF	Paul Curtis	27	–	1	1	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	32	–	1
DF	Paul Friar	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	16	–	–
DF	Russell Lewis	43	–	–	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	51	–	–
DF	Keith McPherson	20	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	21	–	–
DF	Graham Reed	34	2	1	1	–	–	3	–	–	2	1	–	40	3	1
MF	Phil Chard	41	–	7	1	–	–	4	–	1	3	–	–	49	–	8
MF	Warren Donald	32	–	3	1	–	–	1	–	–	3	–	–	37	–	3
MF	Stewart Hamill	3	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	1	4	–	2
MF	Richard Hill	41	–	17	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	2	49	–	19
MF	Aidy Mann	25	7	2	–	–	–	3	–	–	1	1	–	29	8	2
MF	Mark Schiavi	31	–	5	–	–	–	1	1	–	3	–	1	35	1	6
FW	Ian Benjamin	46	–	22	1	–	–	4	–	1	3	–	3	54	–	26
FW	Trevor Morley	43	–	13	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	51	–	13
FW	Paul Sugrue	2	6	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	2	7	2
Players who left before end of season:
DF	Ian Dawes	3	2	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	4	2	–
DF	Brian Mundee	31	–	–	1	–	–	4	–	–	1	–	–	37	–	–
DF	Gavin Nebbeling	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	12	–	–
MF	Steve Brown	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
MF	Phil Cavener	13	4	4	1	–	–	4	–	1	–	–	–	18	4	5
MF	Ged Nohilly	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

References

^ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1986/87, p.252.
^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Keith McPherson". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Warren Donald". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 24 January 2024.

Books

Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.

[1] Rothmans Football Yearbook 1986/87, p.252.

[2] "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Keith McPherson". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 4 November 2013.

[3] "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Warren Donald". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 24 January 2024.

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